His Situation Her Circumstance
by Broncoley
Summary: Captured during VoE, Sasuke is released from custody 3 years later, placed under surveillance by Konoha's strongest clan. The last Uchiha finds himself under the strict law of the Hyuga, while becoming unwittingly involved with its heiresses. SasuHinaHana


Oh Naruto Fanfiction, how I've missed you so...

...Anywho, ignoring that. Considering its been almost 4 years since I last updated anything in these parts I'm quite sure most of you have no idea who I am or even remember what my earlier stories were about. Well, 1: They were about Naruto(verse). 2: They were either romance or adventure fics. Even so, I'm back with a new story on a personal favorite pairing of mine... with a slight twist... I guess...

Also, I'm using most terms in the world of Naruto based on their english nature. As such, characters won't be adding -kun or -chan at the end of their names, nor will they be calling each other baka or teme. I'm not japanese, so I prefer the english pronounciations and customs. Even so, a few (Chidori, Rasengan) will be called by their original name. Like the dub... Except no "Believe it".

That aside, read on...

* * *

C H A P T E R – 1 – O N E

_Whispers in the Dark_

Two…

That had been the number of times he had looked back.

As the rain fell from the skies, dark clouds covering what little light had been shining through; he felt cold. An odd feeling for him at the moment, considering that just moments ago the only thing he had felt was numbness. Numbness which had replaced the intense rage and ecstasy that had filled his body moments before that.

But now, all he felt was a cold chill run down his body. Feeling as if he were freezing from the inside out. It was a feeling he did not like one bit, and as such, he chose to ignore it. Or try to at least.

"Damn it…" Words left his mouth without his consent, if that were possible. He couldn't really argue against that, since the voice that he heard felt distant even from himself. His eyes scattered around, shifting from the dark pathway which he had chosen as his path, towards the fallen boy that still laid in the ground. He couldn't tell whether or not he was breathing. And as much as he would have liked to say he didn't care, he couldn't even lie to himself about it.

It hurt…

Everything hurt…

His damn shoulder hurt, making it hard to move. His damn hand hurt, for overusing his Chidori. Even his eyes hurt, everything did. As did his chest…

He stopped his train of thoughts, cursing under his breath.

He had been looking back again.

Two was now three... as with everything in his life that day; his "twos" had been changed.

Two had been the number of Tomoe in his Sharingan, which had become three during his bout.

Two had also been the limit of how many Chidori he could do in one day, and yet today he had used three.

Two, likewise, had been the number of friends which had pleaded for him to stay. Two friends which had been reduced to none…

A single sound of a pair of sandals hitting the wet ground caught his attention, but his body did not show it. He didn't move; eyes and body facing away from the superior which had just arrived at the scene. Even so, he could feel the older man's eye(s) fixated upon his back. Moments later, another sound was heard, this time by a four legged pooch.

"Check up on Naruto." His once-sensei told the dog, pointing towards his fallen comrade. The dog did as was told and went towards the boy, while the jounin turned his attention at him. "Sasuke."

His voice had been firm. It had been a command, and a warning.

And yet Sasuke didn't budge.

"Sasuke…" This time his voice was a bit softer, a bit _familiar_, if such an adjective could be used. "Do you have any idea what you've do-"

"S-Stop…" Sasuke's trembling voice caused Kakashi to stop momentarily, followed by the sight of his body beginning to tremble as well. Before Kakashi could even react, Sasuke shouted. Shouted as loud as he could.

He didn't know what had made him stop from going towards Orochimaru.

He didn't know what had stopped him from killing Naruto.

And even more so, he didn't know why he had done what he did…

"STOP ME!"

In a moment, Sasuke's head was hit against the cold hard stone floor, soft enough for him not to split his head in two, but hard enough to stop himself from even considering escaping. Even if that wasn't enough, his left arm had been twisted against his back; his sensei holding him steady while sitting against his back. Just like it had been back then.

Sighing, Kakashi took one last glimpse at the fallen Uchiha. He couldn't tell if it was the rain or not, but he could have sworn he saw glimpses of tears in the younger man's eyes, something which made him feel a bit relieved but a bit unnerved as well. Regardless…

"Oh Sasuke…" The jounin muttered, as a handful of possible consequences for the youth's actions began to play themselves on his head. "What am I going to do with you?"

Even so, what was done was done. There was no turning back.

Almost missing-nin Sasuke Uchiha had been caught.

Three years later…

Konohagakure had enjoyed relative peace. Moderately so at least, since one should consider the fact that a Shinobi-run and operated village is "destined" to face a few disasters here and there, but at least none at the level of which it had endured on worse times. The Nine-Tails attack or the Sound/Sand Rebellion being a few which had not only cost a lot of damages but also the life of one of the Hokage and a handful of respected villagers. But, thankfully, nothing of that extreme had occurred during these years.

The current Hokage, Lady Tsunade, was up and running as per custom, taking care of every little detail that had to be done for the Leaf's Hidden Village.

However, for most in the village, the biggest center of attention as of late had been whatever news one could get about the Leaf's Team 7. While news about its Jounin member, Kakashi Hatake, had been of no short coming, considering the man in question spent more time away on missions than back home there wasn't too much diversity.

The team's lone kunoichi on the other hand did give people a lot more to talk about, since it was not everyday a Genin had been taken under the wing of the Hokage as she had. And, if her results were anything to go by, she was faring quite well, given the fact that she had risen to Chunin quite effortlessly. Alongside many of the previous competitors as well.

Despite this, she wasn't the star of attention for most. Admirable and all, she lacked what her other teammate had, controversy. The resident loser who went from zero to hero was a big talk around these parts, despite the fact that he was away with the legendary Sannin Jiraiya. Talk about his capture of the Uchiha traitor, despite his claims that he had been eating dirt when the boy had been caught, had skyrocketed his popularity. Rumors had it he was expected back soon.

But, at least for today, even he wasn't the center of attention. If people liked controversy, they tended to look elsewhere. On a bit darker places. Konoha's prison to be exact, where a certain youth was about to be released…

The sound of echoing footsteps could be heard all the way back, towards where he currently resided. According to the sound and rhythm of the steps, he counted two people coming towards him, a man and a woman respectively. He, however, chose to ignore this.

The door opened up, allowing the light from the exterior to shine into the otherwise dark room. Standing in front of the open door, arms crossed and ever so silent, stood Ibiki Morino. Next to him, chowing down on a few dumplings was Anko Mitarashi, who smirked at the sight of the youngest Uchiha.

Said boy was currently upside down; exercising himself as part of his morning routine. He was currently doing one-arm pushups, while lifting his entire body, while balancing himself on a plastic chakra-infused fork, while balancing what appeared to be his bed on his feet.

"Having fun?" Ibiki broke the silence, while Anko looked on.

"Hardly…" Was Sasuke's response, as he continued to exercise. Anko allowed herself to snort at the boy, while walking towards him and crouching down close to him. Sasuke's eyes wandered on their own, which was hard not to considering how widespread the kunoichi's legs were. "I can see up your skirt."

"Oh…" She smiled again, as he continued lifting himself up. "I think that's an additional service I may have to get you to pay."

"Doubtful."

"Hey!" She retorted, clearly annoyed. Sasuke just lifted a brow at her, as she lifted herself up. "Listen hear punk, I'm quite a prize for many guys out there, just cause your Uchiha doesn't mean I'm not good enough."

"The boy never said that." Ibiki interrupted, causing Anko to turn her glare at him.

"Who asked you?"

"Never mind that now." The older man turned to face the youth, who, upon noticing the change of subject, placed his bed in its place and, with a simple twist of the wrist, landed sitting down on it. As Anko looked on, Ibiki continued. "Sasuke Uchiha, today is the day you get to leave, permanently. How's it feel?"

"Anticlimactic…"

Allowing himself to laugh a little, Ibiki nodded at Anko, who in turn stepped out (groaning) and walked to what Sasuke presumed was the exit. It wasn't too hard to get out, considering the prison was small, the cell was smaller, due to the fact that most enemy Shinobi were hardly ever caught alive. He was one of the few exceptions to the case…

"Listen boy." Ibiki spoke up, taking a seat on the floor, leaving the door fully opened without a guard in sight. Not that Sasuke had any use for it. His "imprisonment" had been a pathetic one to say the least. The food was good and he didn't have to share the toilet or shower. He had been allowed after the first few months to walk around the village and even work at a desk job under the surveillance of the Hokage. And Sakura. And Ino.

Thinking back, maybe that was punishment in itself…

Regardless, other than being forbidden to leave the village and having to sleep in this cell which he personally liked to keep all dark and eerie, it hadn't really felt like a punishment for such a serious crime. Having teammates who are close to the Hokage had its perks, he supposed.

"Boy… are you listening?"

Shifting his attention at his one-time exam proctor, Sasuke nodded. "Good…" Ibiki noted, shifting his seated posture. "Now then." He continued. "Sasuke Uchiha, do you have any plans now that you can leave this place ever so freely?"

"Now why would I?" Sasuke's voice remained serious, yet calm. As dark as it was, Ibiki could swear the boy (no, he was no longer a boy), the young man was smirking. "Do you really expect me to believe I'll be just set free just like that?"

"Huh?"

"I'm fully aware that the elders hate my guts and would have had me executed if half the Shinobi here hadn't intervened." Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi topped his list, though he knew others had argued against his first sentence. "Furthermore…" He continued, thinking of how he could get the message across without wasting so much breath. "Many are displeased of how a "criminal" like me was let off so easily. Not to mention they still think Orochimaru is still after me."

"And you don't think so?" Ibiki waited a response, yet Sasuke only shrugged. 'Little bastard…' The elder man thought. 'All these years and your devil-may-care attitude only increased. No wonder I can't hate you, nor can your team.'

"Just say it…" Sasuke continued, glaring at the man. "What's my mission? Where do they want to send me to die off to?"

Ibiki smiled. No, he grinned, rather widely. "Still a genius I see…"

With that said, Ibiki stood up and moved towards the Uchiha, who didn't even budge. Placing his hand on the younger man's shoulder, Ibiki gave a light tug. "While you did calculate the Elders' and Lady Tsunade's intentions quite masterfully, you underestimated our Lady's character."

"Character?"

"The Elders wanted to send you away to some mission where, I won't lie, chances were you would have gotten yourself killed or would have turned on us again and then they would have a reason to hunt you down…"

Sasuke simply frowned. He hadn't expected people to welcome him with open arms after what he had done, but this was ridiculous. Maybe having gone to Orochimaru might not have been such a bad idea after all. Maybe his goal of avenging his clan would have been…

"But Lady Tsunade would have none of that. The last thing she wants is for your team to suffer any more…" Ibiki felt a strange pride at saying this, half because he admired the Hokage, half because for the first time he had seen some emotion in the Uchiha's eyes. As small as it might have been. "So that idea was discarded in favor of a much simpler non-suicidal, village-set mission."

While Sasuke had wanted to say something, he found himself unable to. He was free, just like that. True, he hadn't given them any reason of betrayal during the last years, but still he knew better. Shinobi were, at heart, weapons. If they couldn't be trusted, they had to be discarded. It was the sad truth behind the world, one that he had come to accept long before he had left the village with those four sound bastards…

"I'll ask again. How's it feel?" Ibiki eyed the youth, who for the first time seemed to sport an actual _sincere_ smile. Sasuke, on the other hand, simply lifted his eyes to meet Ibiki's.

"…Anticlimactic."

This was not her day.

Waking up early, not eating and running around the village like a testosterone-induced maniac was part of the ninja's job description, but this was too much. It was nice that her father had trusted such a great task, or tasks, at her disposal and all, but still. Was this really how an heiress should spend her day? Ex-heiress, but still. What happened to all the other members of the clan, anyway?

Shaking her head, she didn't want to think about that now. Her father, Hiashi Hyuga, head of the Hyuga Clan, did not usually trust such important matters to her. While he had warmed up to her, and even to Neji, he was still more a Shinobi than a father. Long story short, she would take what she would get in order to make him feel if even the slightest proud of her. Or at the very least see her as useful. Her spars with her sister hadn't managed said feat in the slightest…

"Excuse me." Her gentle voice caused the man behind the counter to look up at her. Before she had the need to say anything he quickly stood up.

"Milady Hinata." He spoke with a short bow, which she considered unnecessary but still appreciated. "I'll have your father's order with you in a moment."

"Thank you… and take your time." She muttered the last part, since it felt like a lie. Still she didn't enjoy making others rush themselves, regardless of how rushed she was right now. As the merchant walked away towards the store's supply room, Hinata allowed herself to rest her back against the wall.

'Today Hanabi gets her new private instructor… A rather odd move on father's part to emphasize so much on another Shinobi when all of her training up until now had been under his own guidance.' She paused for a minute, looking around. It seemed like a small crowd was forming around the street, heaven knows why. 'I had to cancel of Kiba and Shino today in order to run all this errands while the Hyuga household is prepared. Even Neji was busy today…'

A scream was heard, causing her to jolt all senses towards the street, where the sound had come from. Byakugan activated, Hinata had almost jumped towards the scene before being stopped by the sight of a familiar face. Well, not too familiar…

It was a member of her clan, Hoheto Hyuga if she remembered correctly, a rather prominent Shinobi in his own right. She had seen him meeting with her father a few times, and she was sure he was a well liked individual. Yet, why were they screaming at him. As she shifted her view, she spotted another individual next to Hoheto, whom she felt the chakra was familiar too.

"Milady."

"Ah…!" She tried to lower her small outburst, a bit ashamed that she had been surprised from behind after having activated an eye power which allowed her to see almost a 360 degree angle of her surroundings. "S-Sorry…" She muttered, as she grabbed the items which were given to her. She proceeded to give the man her thanks, followed by continuing her way. Who ever was with the Hyuga, she thought, would have likely have been another Hyuga or another Shinobi she had seen working alongside her father. Right?

"You may enter."

Hoheto spoke up as he shifted himself aside, leaving enough room for him to pass inside. Doing as told, Sasuke walked into the Hyuga mansion. Scrolls, weaponry, clothing and even things he had no idea what they were adorned the complex; each and every one marked with the Hyuga symbol very much like how the Uchiha's had been. Before…

Shaking his head, Sasuke shifted his attention towards another young man walking towards him, who, despite the latter's changes, he easily recognize. After all, few could be as much an ass as he could be, a fact that he was unsure if he took pride on it or not. Regardless…

"Neji…" Sasuke "greeted" his fellow Shinobi, whom he had heard from Sakura had gone on his retrieval mission alongside the four others. And Lee. "This is a surprise…" He continued, smirking at the jounin. "Are you the one that won the bid on my services?"

"Hardly..." Neji didn't bother looking at him any further, shifting his vision towards Hoheto and signaling the elder man's departure. Nodding, the Shinobi left in a small burst of smoke, leaving the two doujutsu kekkei genkai wielders alone. Before Sasuke could move, Neji turned back to him. "Let's get one thing straight, I did not ask for your services, Sasuke."

"Still pissed at me Hyuga. You know you didn't have to go fetch me."

"It was my job, besides…" Neji turned again, facing what appeared to be a photo of his team. Sasuke could see Rock Lee and their sensei doing their ridiculous good-guy pose of theirs, Tenten simply smiling while Neji sported a sour look that nearly matched his own. "I considered you, and still do, a valuable comrade."

Sasuke's eyes widened, as he looked at the other's back. "Even so, thanks to you I didn't need the Byakugan in order to see-through my body."

Sasuke's eyes closed. He knew how wounded everyone had returned. And, forgetting Shikamaru and his broken finger, how close to death most of them had been. "S-Sor-"

"Neji."

Hinata's voice stopped the Uchiha, while her cousin shifted his attention towards her. "Lady Hinata." Neji spoke up, which Sasuke realized sounded a lot softer and sweeter than he had been those years back. Almost like how Itachi had been with…

"Neji, I've got father's things here, would you please give me a ha…" Hinata froze, big white eyes even wider due to her sudden surprise.

She hadn't seen him there, hadn't noticed him there. She knew he was in the Leaf. She had visited him once or twice alongside her team, back during the period where even a mute would have been able to strike a better conversation than he could. But she hadn't expected him out and about. Much less in her very own home. "S-S…"

"Give you a ha? You want me to laugh?" Her cousin walked towards her causing her to turn to him. Before she could speak, whenever that would be, he intervened. "Sasuke, you remember Hinata, right? You two were part of the same class."

"Yeah." Was the solemn response by the Uchiha, who only scanned the girl before him. Neji hadn't been the only one to change, since Hinata now sported much longer hair. And while her face remained mostly unchanged, she had _grown _a bit.

"Sasuke." She finally said with a bow. "I'm glad to see that you're out- I mean, not like you haven't been out, more like how I mean that you are now, erm, no longer inside, I mean…"

"I'm glad to be out of prison too…"

"Yeah… that…" With that she turned, blushing slightly. Three years and yet she still couldn't phrase her thoughts right. While she thanked heavens it hadn't been Naruto the one she had bumped into like that, considering she was sure she would have been out cold had that happened, Sasuke had also been someone she hadn't spoken much to. Heck, right now she spoke to him more than she ever did back when they were younger.

"With that out of the way." Neji interrupted, causing Sasuke to turn to him. "Sasuke." He spoke, a bit firmer. "Please come with me. Milord Hiashi wishes to speak with you."

With a simple nod Sasuke followed Neji towards where ever it was Hiashi Hyuga was hiding, in Sasuke's ever-so humble opinion. Meanwhile Hinata just stayed there, having not been able to greet the Uchiha properly nor could having been able to tell her cousin that she use some help with her things. Sighing, she figured she'd have to do things as per usual, alone.

"Was that who I think it was?"

The sudden voice startled her; though she was already annoyed enough at jumping at the slightest sound that she forced her body not to respond. Besides, she recognized that voice easily. With a warm smile, she turned to face her younger sibling. "He is; that's Sasuke Uchiha. The last of the Uchiha Clan."

Hanabi Hyuga stood atop the staircase, arms rested against the rail while looking down upon her sister. Eyes widened, Hanabi smirked. "I bet he is." She said in a voice that made Hinata raise her brow. "No wonder he's the talk of the town, he's a hottie."

"Hanabi! Don't let father hear that."

"I won't, but it is true."

"I wouldn't know." Hinata said as she shifted her gaze. It wasn't common for her to talk to her sister so casually, considering that Hanabi spent most of her time with their father and Hinata spent hers on missions or with her team. Before she could think of what to do, however, Hanabi had landed next to her.

"So…" She spoke up, looking up towards her sibling, while Hinata blinked. Twice. "He's not the one you like?"

Now she was blushing. This was not the conversation she wanted to have with her sister. She was too young, heck, Hinata herself was too young. In her point-of-view at least. "T-That's something I… I…"

"Hm…" Hands in her pockets, Hanabi leaned at her sister, waiting for a reaction. One besides intense blushing or fidgeting. Anything else would do.

"Say H-Hanabi…" Hinata countered, trying to shift the girl's attention. At least the two had agreed to call each other without the use of honorifics, well, without Hinata having to use the on Hanabi. Not that she minded, it just didn't feel like they were siblings. "Why don't you give me a hand with these things here, huh?"

Needless to say, Hanabi agreed.

Needless to say, she didn't allow for the conversation to die there. Much to the elder sibling's disappointment.

"Sasuke Uchiha."

Hiashi was all seriousness when it came to work, which reminded Sasuke, whether he wanted to admit it or not, to his own late father. Business first; family later. Or so he presumed. Still, he was used to this type of person, so he simply listened. Listened to everything that was said.

He heard about how one of the servants had broken a frying pan. Or was it a frypan. Skillet? Weren't they the same?

He heard about how much the Hyuga heiress had improved combat wise as of late. He didn't remember much about the Hyuga, but he did remember that Hinata was no longer the heir. She had a sister; or something…

He also heard the small cough Neji gave to stop his ears from wandering, much to his dismay. And this was coming from someone who didn't hold a grudge. Yeah, right.

"Lady Tsunade has briefed me on your situation some time ago, which interested me in how I could benefit from your services." Hiashi spoke up, arms crossed while seated in front of the standing Uchiha. Sasuke inwardly smirked. He knew what the Hyuga head wanted to say. He benefitted from Sasuke's situation, not services. "This is why I have called you out here today."

"What is it that you need me to do?" Sasuke returned dryly.

"…Are you aware of the fact that the Sharingan originated from the Byakugan?" At this Sasuke, despite his efforts, visibly frowned. The Sharingan was one and only, not some cheap knock off of their supposedly all-seeing eye. Despite all that had occurred with the Uchiha, he still took pride in their, _his_, bloodline ability.

"Does that have _anything _to do with what I'm assigned?"

"It does."

Sasuke gave Hiashi a confused look, while the elder Hyuga simply smirked. "You see…" Hiashi took a deep breath, which caused Sasuke to stiffen out of reflex. "My training of my daughter has to be put on hold due to circumstances out of my control, and while this is something most unfortunate for us members of the Hyuga clan, Lady Tsunade offered me a rather interesting… proposal, if you will."

"Go on."

"Hanabi's training is my priority as a father, and as the head of the Hyuga clan. As such, I am obligated to leave her in capable hands until I can personally resume her training."

At all of this Sasuke was nodding ever so slightly at almost every single pause that Hiashi made, but stopped the moment the words joined up inside his head and the sentences' meaning became clear. 'Oh, hell no.'

"Wait…" The word had sounded more like a plea than a request, but Sasuke didn't give much of a damn. "You're not telling me to…" That couldn't be it; it possibly couldn't be. "That I'm going…"

"You are assigned to stay here in the Hyuga compound and, alongside Neji, are to overtake Hanabi's training until I am able to do so again. Do you understand, Sasuke Uchiha?" Hiashi stared at the youth. The oh-so-very shocked youth.

To train…

Synonym of…

To babysit…

"…"

'Crap…'

* * *

Why is it that I love writing about Sasuke. I mean, I dislike his character in the series, and yet I love to write about him. Even more so than I do the titular character. Alas...

Getting back to writing has been fun, and I intend to stay this time around. Comments or such are greatly appreciated as per usual, since I have recieved all of the comments these past few years telling me to return to my stories. It is also part of the reason which motivated me to continue in the first place.

Now then: questions, comments, flames or critiques? Review!

PS: Hidden easter eggs abound...


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